Rotary loves supporting literacy, especially for children, and our club is proud to have a Reading Buddy program at a local elementary school. Each week, six of our club representatives spend one hour at Priory Park Elementary School, each devoting 30 minutes to two young students chosen by the school for one-on-one time with a caring adult to read, chat and receive encouragement. Our volunteers love it, and so do the students once their initial wariness turns to curiosity and excitement. Now we are considering a new challenge: how Rotary could perhaps support the Guelph Kids' Literacy Program held at The Bookshelf each May, open to all local schools. 

With shock and tremendous sadness, we learned that our friend and longstanding Rotarian, Tom Funk, had passed away suddenly at home on March 29th, 2026. We had enjoyed his company at our weekly Rotary Club of Guelph meeting just two days earlier.  We have truly lost one of our “Greats”, and his legacy will live on. We send our heartfelt  condolences to his family. Obituary. 

On Saturday, March 28, 2026, our wonderful club member, Ruth Thatcher, received the Inspirational Philanthropist Award from the Guelph General Hospital Foundation for her 50-plus years of volunteering service at the hospital, ever since she started as a Candy Striper at age 16. The award was made at the 30th Annual Black Tie Bingo event. Read more about Ruth being a Living Legend and also watch the wonderful video about Ruth, shown at the awards event. 

On 20 March 2026, our club was updated about the work of Bracelet of Hope in Lesotho. This remarkable charity was initiated by our Rotary member and Guelph physician Dr. Anne-Marie Zadjlik some 21 years ago, using her HIV/AIDS medical expertise and her heartfelt compassion to bring relief to the people of Lesotho which had the highest global incidence of this disease. 14 years ago, our club's past president Tracey Curtis got involved alongside Anne-Marie and Tracey is currently serving her fourth term as Chair of the board of directors. Other Rotarians are also helping. These are truly ROTARY PEOPLE OF ACTION!

On Wednesday, 18 March 2026, University of Guelph student entrepreneurs struck gold and took home first place in three out of four competition challenges at the Enactus Canada Central Canada Regional  Competition in Toronto, competing against 30 universities and colleges. As part of our Vocational Service, our Rotary club is a keen supporter of the Enactus Guelph club, and very proud of their accomplishments! These three projects will now advance to the national Enactus competition in Montreal in May. 

As a community service, Rotary is hosting another free “Guelph Community Connections” meeting for local charities and non-profits on April 23, 2026. Three Rotary clubs are jointly hosting this meeting - Guelph, Guelph Trillium, and Guelph South. The meeting offers participants the opportunity to learn from guest speakers, connect and reconnect with other non-profits and services, catch up on what is happening locally, share needs and ideas, and explore ways they can help each other.  

Most often, a new member is personally introduced to our club by another member. But sometimes, when you are new in town and you want to meet like-minded people and get involved in your new community, you find your way to Rotary and explore that option. After attending just two of our club meetings, Jennifer felt, and we felt, that she belonged here!  Jennifer was formally inducted as a Rotarian on March 13, 2026. Welcome Jennifer! 

Our friends at the Rotary Guelph South club, in partnership with the GoGo Grandmothers of Guelph (the 4Gs), are running another scrabble party this year to fundraise for The Bench in Guelph, and grandmothers in Africa caring for their orphaned grandchildren. This fun and enjoyable event will be on Saturday, April 18, 2026 from 2-4pm at the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 234 in Guelph. Tickets are $25 and available HERE.